Australia news as it happened: Hume dumped from shadow cabinet as Ley, Littleproud strike agreement; Payman alleges sexual, racial comments against colleague

Thanks for following our live blog. That’s a wrap for today – stay tuned for more live coverage tomorrow.

Here’s a quick rundown of today’s top stories:

• The Coalition has formally reunited, with Coalition leaders Sussan Ley and David Littleproud reaching a new agreement.
• Littleproud dismissed claims Michael McCormack was sidelined for speaking out about the Coalition’s split, citing “generational change” instead.
• Former finance spokeswoman Jane Hume has been dumped from the Coalition’s newly announced shadow ministry.
• Senator Fatima Payman filed a complaint over alleged sexist and racist comments by a senior male colleague.
• The PM defended Australia’s independent foreign policy and clashed with a journalist over potential sanctions on Israel as millions in Gaza starve.
• Victorian senator Lidia Thorpe condemned the death of a 24-year-old Indigenous man in police custody in Alice Springs.

Coalition leaders Sussan Ley and David Littleproud unveiled their new shadow cabinet ministry on Wednesday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

• Ley declined to confirm whether the Coalition would abandon its net zero targets.
• Whistleblower David McBride, who was jailed for leaking classified information about possible war crimes, lost his appeal against his sentence and will remain in prison.
• Environment Minister Murray Watt has given Woodside the green light to operate its North West Shelf gas project until 2070.
• Monthly inflation rose to 2.4 per cent in the year to April, slightly above expectations.
• Recovery efforts continue in NSW’s Mid North Coast and upper Hunter, with more than 4000 government staff clearing debris and repairing infrastructure.

Thanks again for joining us – see you tomorrow.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has insisted he wants the Port of Darwin returned to Australian ownership, as an American private equity firm makes a play to buy the strategically significant asset from its Chinese owners.

Both Labor and the Coalition announced during the election campaign that they would move to strip Chinese firm Landbridge of its controversial 99-year lease of the port, which sits directly opposite Darwin’s Larrakeyah Defence Precinct.

The government says it wants the Port of Darwin returned to Australian hands.Credit: Getty Images

The prospect of a forced divestiture has angered Beijing, which feels Chinese companies are being unfairly singled out for punishment over national security concerns.

Albanese also downplayed the prospect of joining any international effort to impose sanctions on leading Israeli politicians over the war in Gaza and settlement building in the occupied West Bank, despite a call from Labor elder statesman Gareth Evans to sanction Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and two of his far-right cabinet members.

Asked if he would support a bid by US investment firm Cerberus to buy the port, Albanese told reporters: “We’ve said we want to see it in Australian hands. I notice this speculation which is there, but we’ll examine the process. We’re determined to make sure it’s in the national interest for it to be in Australian hands.”

Read the full story here.

Donald Trump has pledged to make America the “crypto capital of the world”. He’s certainly making crypto the centre of his personal financial world.

The latest of his proliferating crypto ventures was announced on Tuesday (Florida time), when his social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, announced it was raising $US2.5 billion ($3.9 billion) to buy bitcoin.

Trump’s expanding interests in crypto add another dimension to the string of conflicts he faces.Credit: AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

The move is a dramatic shift in strategy for the struggling social media group, which lost $US32 million on a paltry $US820,000 of sales in the first quarter.

Trump Media chair Devin Nunes, who described bitcoin as “an apex instrument of financial freedom”, said the investment was “a big step forward to evolve into a holding company by acquiring additional profit-generating, crown jewel assets consistent with America First principles”.

Read more from senior business columnist Stephen Bartholomeusz’s opinion piece here.

National Greens leader Larissa Waters has said the government’s approval of Woodside’s “carbon bomb” is a failure of their first climate test.

Greens leader Larissa Waters has accused the government of placing private profits over climate actionCredit: Alex Ellinghausen

“This North West Shelf extension has been Labor’s single most important coal and gas decision to date,” she said.

“It will release more pollution each year than all of Australia’s coal stations combined and run for 45 more years.

“Sacrificing the oldest art gallery on the planet for Woodside’s private profits while the Hunter has just experienced a one in 500 year flood event shows the climate madness this decision is.”

Northern Territory Senator and Indigenous Affairs Minister Malarndirri McCarthy has reacted to the death of an Aboriginal man in Alice Springs.

The 24-year-old was being restrained by police on Tuesday afternoon in a supermarket, after he allegedly became involved in a scuffle with a security guard.

Police said the man stopped breathing shortly after officers intervened, and died in hospital about an hour later.

In a statement today, Senator McCarthy called the incident a “shocking tragedy”.

“I have spoken with an elder from the young man’s family and have expressed my deepest sympathy,” she said.

The investigation into what happened remains ongoing.

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has tuned in to Afternoon Briefing from Danglemah in New South Wales, where he says Littleproud has rewarded his supporters with shadow cabinet positions.

Speaking earlier today, Littleproud said he wanted to bring in “generational change” to his party, in response to questions about whether he was punishing Joyce and Michael McCormack for criticising his leadership.

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce: “We all move on, people get over it, but let’s call it for what it is.”Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Joyce said the idea that the decision was made to usher in generational change, was “ridiculous”.

“It is a decision based on policy and personality – and that’s OK. That is absolutely the prerogative of the leader.”

“That’s how it happens. We all move on, people get over it, but let’s call it for what it is.”

McKenzie says she was “shocked” to see former Liberal finance spokeswoman Jane Hume dumped from the shadow ministry.

“I didn’t expect her to be not in the shadow ministry at all,” she told Karvelas.

“I’m being incredibly honest. I was watching the live feed ... other than a couple of positions in our own party, I wasn’t aware of the full list.”

McKenzie says the decision to dump Hume was Ley’s prerogative, and that she will be the one to answer the question of “why?”.

Nationals senate leader Bridget McKenzie says the reunification of the Coalition is an ‘important’ one, and not superficial.

Speaking to Karvelas, McKenzie said there were commitments made by the Nationals at the last election that they were simply “not going to let go of”.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“One of the things about our long-standing relationship is there has to be an element of trust,” she said.

“We were very heartened because the rumour going into the Liberal Party party room wasn’t that they would be agreeing to the four [policy] positions,” she said.

Husic says he supports the decision made today by Environment Minister Murray Watt to grant Woodside an extension of its North West Shelf gas project until 2070.

“I would make the case so we’ve been strong in responding to climate change, and we’ve also been strong in using the law ... in making this decision relying on science,” Husic said.

Labor MP Ed Husic is appearing now on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing with Patricia Karvelas where he’s been asked about Albanese’s comments earlier today where he dismissed questions around imposing sanctions on Israel.

“If you look at what’s happened in the last week, we’ve had reliable friends of ours on the international stage in the UK, Canada, and France signal their strong opposition to what’s occurring in Gaza, like many across the world concerned about the impact on innocent civilians in Gaza and flagging stronger action,” he said.

Labor MP Ed Husic said reliable friends of Australia on the international stage have signalled their strong opposition to what’s occurring in Gaza.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“I flagged recently that I think it would be wise to have targeted sanctions, looking at individuals who have been directing the operations in Gaza, and clearly ignoring, violating, international humanitarian law.”

Asked if the prime minister has poured cold water on the idea of sanctioning Israel, Husic says we should be finding ways to help the vulnerable, “and not talk ourselves out of that”.